Increasing reading speed
Directions： Do the word recognition drills below. Note the words on the left then underline them every time they appear in the same form on the line to the right. No regression， no vocalization. Try to finish in 15 seconds or less.
Starting Time：
1. disappear disapprove disappear disaster disappoint disagree
2. creature creative creation creature structure pleasure
3. scientist scientist science scientist socialist scientific
4. population popular populate popularly population populous
5. throughout thorough thoughtful through thoughtout throughout
6. fountain foundation founder fountain foundling founded
7. American American Afghan Antarctic American Arctic
8. especially especially specially specific species special
9. government governor governing governess government movement
10. breeding breadline breeding breaking breezing breathing
Finishing Time：Total Reading Time：
Error：Check each line carefully for mistakes.
Can the Giant Panda Be Saved？Suppose every person on Earth ate only one kind of food. And one year that food disappeared. If that happened， all humans would soon disappear too.
Fortunately， humans dont face that problem. However， another creature may. The animal is the giant panda， one of the worlds most beloved animals.
Dr. Thomas Soderstrom， a Smithsonian botanist， has discovered that the bamboo plants the giant pandas eat are dying. As a result， many of the pandas are also dying of starvation. Scientists of the World Wildlife Fund estimate that so far more than 140 giant pandas have died. This figure may be almost onequarter of the worlds giant panda population. Between 400 and 1，000 giant pandas are believed to exist.
Giant pandas were once more common throughout many parts of Asia. Now they are limited to small pockets in three mountainous provinces of China.
Why Is Bamboo Dying？In the wild， the giant panda eats only two kinds of bamboo plants. One is the umbrella bamboo； the other is the fountain bamboo. Both kinds have a life cycle that lasts 100 years. During this period， a young plant sprouts from a seed and matures into a large plant with many spearshaped leaves. In its hundredth year the bamboo plant flowers， forms seeds， and dies.
Last year the umbrella and the fountain bamboos that grow in China became 100 years old. The plants grew from seeds formed in the late 1870s. Now almost all of these bamboo plants are dead. The seeds that formed before the plants died have fallen to the ground. Young shoots now grow from the seeds. However， it will be many months before the shoots are large enough to be used for food by the pandas. Meanwhile the large black and white animals continue to die.
Saving the PandasCan the wild pandas be saved？ To find out， a group of American scientists went to China to study the habitat. They were led by Dr. George B. Schaller of the New York Zoological Society. The studies took place in Sichuan Province in central China. The scientists especially wanted to find out more about the animalsdiets. They wanted to see whether the pandas are able to change to other foods while the two kinds of bamboo are maturing.
The Chinese government recognizes the worldwide concern about the giant pandas and has also taken steps to save the animals. Large areas of the giant pandashabitat have been set aside as wildlife preserves. There， the pandas can live unmolested. At the same time， Chinese scientists are trying to increase the number of giant pandas by raising some of the animals in zoos. The first baby panda resulting from this zoobreeding program was born in the Peking zoo in the fall of 1978.
Meanwhile， the rest of the world anxiously wonders： what will be the fate of one of the earths most interesting and gentle creatures？
——from Current Science， Sept. 10， 1980
Time：498words＝wpm
MinutesEXERCISESⅠ。 READING COMPREHENSION
Select the answer which is most accurate according to the information given in the passage.
1. are particular about what they eat.
A. Wild creaturesB. Giant pandasC. Wild animalsD. Humans
2. Many giant pandas are dying of starvation because the bamboo plants .
A. are dying B. have died C. are extinct D. are very old
3. Giant pandas could be found throughout many parts of in the past.
A. China B. India C. Africa D. Asia
4. The life cycle of lasts 100 years.
A. all bamboo plants B. some bamboo plants
C. the umbrella and fountain bamboos D. only the umbrella bamboos
5. It will take unfil bamboo shoots are large enough to be used as food by the Pandas.
A. 100 years B.monthsC.more than one yearD. a few weeks
6. scientists led by Dr. George Schaller were sent to China to study pandas life habits in order to save them.
A. African B. AsianC. AmericanD. The whole worlds
7. Giant pandas are strictly preserved in the large areas of .
A.Sichuan B. Central ChinaC. Southwest China D. the pandas habitat
8. We can infer from the passage that .
A. the giant panda can survive owing to modern science and technology
B. the giant panda can live anywhere if there are bamboo shoots
C. the worlds mostloved animal， the giant panda would be extinct if we didnt take measures to save it
D. the life cycle of the giant panda is about 100 years
Ⅱ。 CONTEXTUAL REFERENCE
Looking up unfamiliar words in a dictionary is timeconsuming and should only be done as a last resort. Figure out meanings of the words in italics using only the context given and word building skills.
1. Some animals do not eat during the winter and only come out in spring； we call them hibernating animals.
2. Dr. Earle started her professional career as a botanist - a person who specializes in plants. In time she became interested in plants that grow in the ocean - especially algae.
3. Cows， sheep， elephants， and rabbits are mammals. Codfish and bluebirds are not.
4. Pumas are large， catlike animals which are found in America.
5. The explorers decided that this was a fossil of an extinct animal. An extinct animal is one that once lived but does not exist now.
6. Biological control is a new way of fighting insects. Biology is the study of plants and animals. It is， then， easy to guess that in biological control of insect pests， plants and animals play a leading part.
Ⅲ。 CLOZE
Complete the following passage by filling in the blanks with appropriate words.
The National Zoo in Washington now has three giant pandas： two of its own， and one on loan from the London Zoo. The London Panda is a male named Jiajia. He was sent to Washington last week in the hope that he will mate with the female panda named Lingling.
Lingling and Washingtons male 1 Xingxing， hare had trouble 2 to mate. Zookeepers think that 3 and Jiajia will be 4 successful.
Jiajia will be kept 5， in a room 6 himself for a while. This is to protect him 7 becoming sick 8 from spreading 9 to the other pandas， 10， visitors to the National Zoo can 11 watch him 12 a large window.
Giant pandas have 13 exchanged for mating a few times 14. In the late 1960s， for example， a 15 panda from the London Zoo was16 to at the Moscow Zoo. Their 17 attempt failed. The male was 18 sent from Moscow 19 London， but the attempt 20 again.
Only one giant panda has been born in captivity outside China. It was born last summer in the zoo in Mexico City. However， the mother panda accidentally sat on her baby and crushed it nine days after it was born.
Directions： Do the word recognition drills below. Note the words on the left then underline them every time they appear in the same form on the line to the right. No regression， no vocalization. Try to finish in 15 seconds or less.
Starting Time：
1. disappear disapprove disappear disaster disappoint disagree
2. creature creative creation creature structure pleasure
3. scientist scientist science scientist socialist scientific
4. population popular populate popularly population populous
5. throughout thorough thoughtful through thoughtout throughout
6. fountain foundation founder fountain foundling founded
7. American American Afghan Antarctic American Arctic
8. especially especially specially specific species special
9. government governor governing governess government movement
10. breeding breadline breeding breaking breezing breathing
Finishing Time：Total Reading Time：
Error：Check each line carefully for mistakes.
Can the Giant Panda Be Saved？Suppose every person on Earth ate only one kind of food. And one year that food disappeared. If that happened， all humans would soon disappear too.
Fortunately， humans dont face that problem. However， another creature may. The animal is the giant panda， one of the worlds most beloved animals.
Dr. Thomas Soderstrom， a Smithsonian botanist， has discovered that the bamboo plants the giant pandas eat are dying. As a result， many of the pandas are also dying of starvation. Scientists of the World Wildlife Fund estimate that so far more than 140 giant pandas have died. This figure may be almost onequarter of the worlds giant panda population. Between 400 and 1，000 giant pandas are believed to exist.
Giant pandas were once more common throughout many parts of Asia. Now they are limited to small pockets in three mountainous provinces of China.
Why Is Bamboo Dying？In the wild， the giant panda eats only two kinds of bamboo plants. One is the umbrella bamboo； the other is the fountain bamboo. Both kinds have a life cycle that lasts 100 years. During this period， a young plant sprouts from a seed and matures into a large plant with many spearshaped leaves. In its hundredth year the bamboo plant flowers， forms seeds， and dies.
Last year the umbrella and the fountain bamboos that grow in China became 100 years old. The plants grew from seeds formed in the late 1870s. Now almost all of these bamboo plants are dead. The seeds that formed before the plants died have fallen to the ground. Young shoots now grow from the seeds. However， it will be many months before the shoots are large enough to be used for food by the pandas. Meanwhile the large black and white animals continue to die.
Saving the PandasCan the wild pandas be saved？ To find out， a group of American scientists went to China to study the habitat. They were led by Dr. George B. Schaller of the New York Zoological Society. The studies took place in Sichuan Province in central China. The scientists especially wanted to find out more about the animalsdiets. They wanted to see whether the pandas are able to change to other foods while the two kinds of bamboo are maturing.
The Chinese government recognizes the worldwide concern about the giant pandas and has also taken steps to save the animals. Large areas of the giant pandashabitat have been set aside as wildlife preserves. There， the pandas can live unmolested. At the same time， Chinese scientists are trying to increase the number of giant pandas by raising some of the animals in zoos. The first baby panda resulting from this zoobreeding program was born in the Peking zoo in the fall of 1978.
Meanwhile， the rest of the world anxiously wonders： what will be the fate of one of the earths most interesting and gentle creatures？
——from Current Science， Sept. 10， 1980
Time：498words＝wpm
MinutesEXERCISESⅠ。 READING COMPREHENSION
Select the answer which is most accurate according to the information given in the passage.
1. are particular about what they eat.
A. Wild creaturesB. Giant pandasC. Wild animalsD. Humans
2. Many giant pandas are dying of starvation because the bamboo plants .
A. are dying B. have died C. are extinct D. are very old
3. Giant pandas could be found throughout many parts of in the past.
A. China B. India C. Africa D. Asia
4. The life cycle of lasts 100 years.
A. all bamboo plants B. some bamboo plants
C. the umbrella and fountain bamboos D. only the umbrella bamboos
5. It will take unfil bamboo shoots are large enough to be used as food by the Pandas.
A. 100 years B.monthsC.more than one yearD. a few weeks
6. scientists led by Dr. George Schaller were sent to China to study pandas life habits in order to save them.
A. African B. AsianC. AmericanD. The whole worlds
7. Giant pandas are strictly preserved in the large areas of .
A.Sichuan B. Central ChinaC. Southwest China D. the pandas habitat
8. We can infer from the passage that .
A. the giant panda can survive owing to modern science and technology
B. the giant panda can live anywhere if there are bamboo shoots
C. the worlds mostloved animal， the giant panda would be extinct if we didnt take measures to save it
D. the life cycle of the giant panda is about 100 years
Ⅱ。 CONTEXTUAL REFERENCE
Looking up unfamiliar words in a dictionary is timeconsuming and should only be done as a last resort. Figure out meanings of the words in italics using only the context given and word building skills.
1. Some animals do not eat during the winter and only come out in spring； we call them hibernating animals.
2. Dr. Earle started her professional career as a botanist - a person who specializes in plants. In time she became interested in plants that grow in the ocean - especially algae.
3. Cows， sheep， elephants， and rabbits are mammals. Codfish and bluebirds are not.
4. Pumas are large， catlike animals which are found in America.
5. The explorers decided that this was a fossil of an extinct animal. An extinct animal is one that once lived but does not exist now.
6. Biological control is a new way of fighting insects. Biology is the study of plants and animals. It is， then， easy to guess that in biological control of insect pests， plants and animals play a leading part.
Ⅲ。 CLOZE
Complete the following passage by filling in the blanks with appropriate words.
The National Zoo in Washington now has three giant pandas： two of its own， and one on loan from the London Zoo. The London Panda is a male named Jiajia. He was sent to Washington last week in the hope that he will mate with the female panda named Lingling.
Lingling and Washingtons male 1 Xingxing， hare had trouble 2 to mate. Zookeepers think that 3 and Jiajia will be 4 successful.
Jiajia will be kept 5， in a room 6 himself for a while. This is to protect him 7 becoming sick 8 from spreading 9 to the other pandas， 10， visitors to the National Zoo can 11 watch him 12 a large window.
Giant pandas have 13 exchanged for mating a few times 14. In the late 1960s， for example， a 15 panda from the London Zoo was16 to at the Moscow Zoo. Their 17 attempt failed. The male was 18 sent from Moscow 19 London， but the attempt 20 again.
Only one giant panda has been born in captivity outside China. It was born last summer in the zoo in Mexico City. However， the mother panda accidentally sat on her baby and crushed it nine days after it was born.